This is a one-part interview with Charles (another St. Johns High School Boy) who will be attending Duke this upcoming fall.
Transcript
Kamila
Hey college kids.
Kamila
Welcome back to my podcast.
Kamila
Who cares about College in today’s episode I’ll be interviewing Charles so if you could introduce yourself.
Charles
Hi, I’m Charles. I’m from Massachusetts, Boston area. I’m a senior in high school. I go to Saint John’s prep.
Charles
I am a white male.
Charles
He him pronouns.
Kamila
And you got into Duke University, which is what I’ll be interviewing you about.
Kamila
Yep, all right.
Kamila
So let’s get like the first like basic stuff out of the way in terms of how you grew up and how what the expectations were for you so.
Kamila
Give me like I guess, an overview of like if your parents are educated.
Kamila
If you have like siblings who are like you know in college and university and then growing up.
Kamila
What was the expectation for you in terms of going into high school with like grades and extracurriculars and then actually going to college or university?
Charles
Yes, so I’ll.
Speaker 4
Start off with.
Charles
My parents, my father went to University of Virginia and then he did a law degree at Vanderbilt.
Charles
And my mom went.
Charles
Locally to a school Wheaton College.
Charles
And then, as per expectations growing up, I don’t really feel like my parents put too much pressure on me.
Charles
Really they don’t like.
Charles
Helicopter parents wandering my grades all the time or anything like that.
Charles
It was mostly kind of up to me and whatever I want to accomplish and explore in high school.
Charles
And then I.
Charles
Also have a sister.
Charles
She’s four years older than me.
Charles
And she went to University of Denver.
Charles
She had a great time there.
Charles
Yeah, sure.
Kamila
And then growing up, going into high school where you’ve just basically like a straight A student like all your life, you’re a pretty good student.
Speaker 4
Uhm, yeah, I was always.
Charles
A strong student in middle school, I came over to the high school and has a middle school so I came there in 6th grade.
Charles
So it was a pretty smooth transition into.
Charles
High school I.
Charles
Was also just named valedictorian for my class, so I did maintain good grades and stuff the whole time.
Kamila
OK, so.
Kamila
So obviously you have a sister.
Kamila
You said she’s four years older than you, and obviously I’ve interviewed Henry and I’ve interviewed Tyler as well, so I know a little bit about your high school, but can you tell us about your high school itself, what programs they have in place?
Kamila
Like you know, API B stuff like that and what resources they have for students in terms of the college process.
Kamila
So we know like what you came into and what.
Kamila
You had to help you.
Speaker 4
Yeah, so uhm, my school does the EP curriculum.
Charles
Uhm, offering a wide range and all.
Charles
All the calculus submission of Sciences AP Bio AP Physics if you can, and then ask for guidance.
Charles
We have a very good system set up.
Charles
I had kind of a different scenario in my high school experience ’cause my original guidance counselor the first two years left so I had to like transition to a new one.
Charles
Midway through high school, which I think I’ve made a start, wasn’t quite as close with my guidance.
Charles
Counselors, other people.
Charles
Were but they definitely have a good set up.
Charles
I don’t think guys.
Charles
Counselors have more than like.
Charles
Uh, maybe 50 people.
Charles
They’re dealing with or hundreds, so it’s like pretty easy to get time with them.
Charles
If you need it.
Kamila
OK, and one more thing before we actually get into your grades, extracurriculars and such.
Kamila
I don’t know if this is like you were just mentioning like the APS that your school had, but you did mention mainly like math and science APS going into high school.
Kamila
Were you sure of pursuing something in the stem like stem industry?
Charles
Yeah, I don’t think I was sure.
Charles
I mean, I enjoy all subjects.
Charles
My dad is actually a high school English teacher and Chelsea and you’re here.
Charles
So, so I mean I I enjoy English.
Charles
I enjoy history too.
Charles
But I mean, I’m definitely kind of a bit more geared toward the math and sciences, but I appreciate all kind of subjects.
Charles
I think everything is interesting.
Charles
Yeah, definitely.
Kamila
Right so.
Kamila
Alright, so let’s
Charles
Right from the start.
Kamila
Sorry, go ahead, go ahead.
Kamila
Go ahead, you go ahead.
Charles
I was definitely from the start.
Charles
Kind of just like.
Charles
Geared in that direction.
Kamila
Alright, so let’s get into your grades, your test scores and stuff like that so you don’t have to list out all the AP’s that you took, but upon application. And this can include senior.
Kamila
Year as well.
Kamila
How many APS did you have to show colleges and then in the end, what was your weighted and then unweighted GPA that you submitted?
Charles
Uhm, yeah, so for APS.
Charles
I think I’ve put down 13 on or like in the common app, but some of them are like future ones.
Charles
Do you actually have a score yet right?
Charles
Do you do that or no?
Kamila
You mean like once you started senior year or?
Charles
Yeah, like once I’m taking this year I put down is like.
Charles
In my I I took probably.
Charles
Yeah, I know a lot of AP’s and then As for GPA I I think unweighted was a 4.0 and then we did with like a 4.76 or something.
Kamila
OK, and then you also mentioned that you’re valedictorian, and like obviously tops when you go to a top school, you’re going to be like a top of your class.
Kamila
But like it’s not every day you like get a valedictorian so as a valedictorian, do you have any respect?
Kamila
What exactly do you have any responsibilities?
Kamila
Do you have any like duties or it’s just like a title?
Kamila
Like oh, you were top.
Charles
Yeah, so they are my school name Saga torian and valedictorian, and they both have roles in commencement at our graduation, so I’ll be giving I, I think, like a 9 minute speech or so, and then I see, yeah, that’s one responsibility I have.
Charles
That’s the main one, I think.
Kamila
OK, alright so it’s not like much, it’s really just a title and you just.
Kamila
Speak at.
Kamila
Yeah OK, alright. So let’s go on to SAT or asked so number one. Which one did you take and then when did you start like when did it come to your mind? When did you start preparing for it?
Charles
Oh yeah, so I took the essay TI really took practice tests for both kind of testing out the waters.
Charles
The ECT was just way too quick pace time. I just couldn’t work that fast and like answer all the questions but so is having troubling. Finishing the test. So the S80 definitely worked better for me.
Charles
Uhm, I took it.
Charles
I think 2 times or three times and I got a 1530 in the end of 790 on math and a 740 on English.
Charles
My bride initially got like I think I got a 7090 on math like the first or second time I took it, and then I tried to study law and do better on English, but I ended up only doing 20 points better.
Charles
But I mean I.
Charles
Was still happy with my score was getting.
Kamila
That English section will just kill your S80 screen honestly. Oh my God alright so so 1530 S 80 really good GPA.
Kamila
Alright, let’s go to extracurriculars now so you can take it from here.
Kamila
Can you give me like a list of at least not like every single little extracurricular?
Kamila
That you did, but at least the few main ones that you did do.
Kamila
And then we’ll.
Kamila
Kind of like.
Kamila
I guess we’ll say deep dive into each one, so if you can give a general list and then we’ll talk individually about each.
Charles
Yeah OK so extra cricket it was.
Charles
I’d say my biggest one is probably I have my own commercial lobstering business during the summer I’ve done for like 5 years commercially for the past three.
Charles
Uh, also I play tennis year round on varsity at the prep and during when it’s not the spring season I’m playing year round at like indoor facilities during tournaments and stuff.
Charles
Kind of think about what I put.
Charles
It’s kind of hurt on the spot, uhm?
Charles
I did some like NHS tutoring stuff.
Charles
Uh, I worked with one kid in particular, Mike, uh.
Charles
And mostly like physics.
Charles
What else?
Charles
Uh, I’m a member of the Spire society at my school, which is?
Charles
They help with like?
Charles
Tours and stuff actually happen tomorrow morning.
Kamila
Did you say aspire?
Charles
It’s called Spire society.
Charles
Our schools.
Charles
It’s a Catholic school.
Charles
It has like one of the buildings, has a big spider on it, so it’s kind of like I don’t know.
Charles
Part of our school spirit, the Spire so, but basically Spire.
Charles
Just dumb.
Charles
They help a lot with student organizing events.
Charles
Alumni relations bringing in new students for tours or like hosting a freshman trivia night.
Charles
Or something like that, just.
Charles
Uhm, and making people feel welcome and building the.
Charles
Uh, community up.
Kamila
So, and this is more like a beginning of like fall and not fall like like spring when like people are looking at the school and then fall when they first come into the.
Kamila
School, so it’s not like one whole year round thing.
Charles
Yeah, I mean.
Charles
It’s I mean, there’s always kind of events going on, but yeah, there’s definitely concentrating those areas. Like I said tomorrow, I I’m giving, I think, a few chores tomorrow morning at 9:30 so.
Kamila
All right, all right.
Kamila
And do you do that because you like genuinely like it or is it like part of your school’s like requirement? Like each student needs to do something like service E related?
Charles
No, it’s not a requirement at all.
Charles
You apply for it.
Charles
I mean, they definitely like advertise it a lot.
Charles
They want people to join.
Charles
But no, it’s huge.
Charles
It’s like they send out a Google thing and you like fill it out.
Charles
And then they either.
Charles
Say you’re in or you’re out.
Charles
And then I think basically everyone gets in and then you help out so they want.
Charles
You to help out.
Kamila
Alright, so let’s go into this lobster business.
Kamila
Never heard, ever heard of a?
Kamila
Interview anyway, so I’m gonna save that for last, so let’s talk about NHL.
Kamila
I mean, you can give a little like what is it like a little, I guess segment on like what NHL is and what exactly you have, but I think it’s like pretty standard so we won’t take too much time on NHL and then we can talk about tennis and then we’ll talk about your lobster business.
Kamila
So if you could tell us a little bit about what NHL is and what your responsibilities are.
Speaker 4
So National Honor Society.
Charles
Uhm, it’s you have to maintain a certain GPA and also have service hours to.
Speaker 4
Qualify for it at our.
Charles
School and at our school you can’t join until your sophomore year.
Charles
And then basically it’s UM.
Charles
Like an award or a title you have, but then it also gives you opportunities.
Charles
As I mentioned before where you can.
Charles
Function as a tutor for they have.
Charles
Both people who go over to the middle school.
Charles
Like twice a week.
Charles
As a program then you can also just.
Charles
Help other high schoolers and grades below you with tutoring.
Charles
So that’s the main role.
Kamila
Yeah natures is like for anyone who’s like listening, doesn’t know it.
Kamila
There’s a lot of stuff you can do at my school they have like forms and you can like go to random events in your city and like.
Kamila
Do like service hours and stuff alright?
Kamila
So let’s Yep.
Kamila
So let’s go onto tennis.
Kamila
You say you.
Kamila
Do that year round.
Kamila
When did you start tennis like?
Kamila
Was it just a high school thing or you’ve been doing this all your life?
Charles
Ah yeah, both my parents played tennis, so I kind of grew up playing.
Charles
I probably didn’t really start playing until I was like 11 ish.
Charles
Uh, then I played in throughout middle school.
Charles
Uh, and then high school freshman year I was OK, but I didn’t make varsity and I’d say it was like kind of after that.
Charles
During sophomore year I started playing more seriously.
Charles
That was when I went to the current club.
Charles
I play at the Manchester Athletic Club Mac or otherwise known as the Academy where there’s a lot of really, really good players so.
Charles
It’s fun to train with them there and and nowadays I’m doing like.
Charles
Four days a week there ish and then like tomorrow I’m playing in two matches tomorrow afternoon so.
Kamila
Oh, so you’re not just like verse at your school.
Kamila
You actually have like a separate club outside of school are you?
Kamila
Are you a recruited athlete?
Charles
No, no I’m not.
Kamila
OK, OK.
Charles
I’m not playing you on tennis.
Charles
I’m not that good.
Charles
Those kids aren’t.
Charles
Then no, I’m so yeah, it’s just like a completely separate thing.
Charles
You know there’s like club soccer teams or something that aren’t.
Charles
They’re all filled with the school at all.
Charles
It’s just like a.
Charles
A completely separate entity.
Charles
They have their own tennis pros there and everything.
Charles
The only time playing for the practice for the three months in the spring, so I think we’ll be starting.
Charles
Probably like March 30th.
Charles
The team as soon as.
Charles
The snow starts getting off the courts will.
Charles
Just start it up and then.
Charles
We’ll go into like.
Charles
June Ish mid June.
Charles
Depending on how we do in states.
Kamila
And I do have a quick like few questions about sports.
Kamila
Well first, let’s get to like the Academy that you actually train it.
Kamila
So when you.
Kamila
Train there like are you you?
Kamila
You’re competing but you’re not like being recruited.
Kamila
OK can you?
Kamila
Explain how that works.
Kamila
I’m not very well versed in sports.
Speaker 4
Yeah no, I just.
Charles
So I go to.
Charles
I practiced there like two or three days a week from 4 to 7 at night.
Charles
Uhm, it’s just a lot of.
Charles
Of basically hitting like workouts, there’s also like a sports psychologist who talks too much of the time and it’s just yeah, it’s just focus on getting better.
Charles
It’s not, I’m not.
Charles
Trying to go pro or anything, but I just I really enjoy the game.
Charles
It’s a good way.
Charles
To get exercise.
Charles
And there’s a lot of like.
Charles
Friends there who I can hang out talk with.
Charles
It’s just a good time, yeah.
Kamila
And when you do, when you do like a sport like a specific sport, I know a lot of people who do it outside of school.
Kamila
Also do it inside of school.
Kamila
So when you’re writing your college app and you’re saying.
Kamila
I played tennis.
Kamila
Do you say that?
Kamila
Do you make it like a separate extracurricular like I play Varsity tennis for my school and then I play for this club that’s not affiliated?
Kamila
Or do you just put it under like one thing?
Charles
I think I just did one thing. It’s like those things are so frustrating ’cause you only have like a like 100 characters or something, but so it’s really hard. You have, like all jammed into a few senses, I think I.
Charles
At the end of last year was named like there’s a local 10 newspaper I was named like a tennis All Star like a sports Salem Sports All Star thing or whatever.
Charles
So I listed that I think and I just said.
Charles
Plays a year round tennis competitively like varsity for the prep and then was named a tennis like.
Charles
Sound news All Star or something, so I just.
Charles
Kind of compacted it there.
Kamila
And then when you do play for your when you play for your like own school and like, obviously it’s not just you playing like it’s your like team team like playing.
Kamila
So when you guys let’s say like go to states or something, what do you like?
Kamila
Write down.
Kamila
Do you just say like Oh my team and I want at states?
Charles
Oh yeah, we didn’t win state so I didn’t.
Charles
We didn’t have.
Charles
Any like we won the?
Charles
UM, our local like Catholic conference.
Charles
So we were the Catholic conference champions last year, which we usually win.
Charles
States is a lot more competitive.
Charles
Also our team the past years hasn’t been as good as it was in the past years, but this year I think we’re going to be.
Charles
I have an actual shot at it.
Kamila
Alright, well I wish you best of luck since that is you said you’re coming up soon, alright?
Kamila
So let’s go on to your lobster business.
Kamila
I don’t even know what questions to ask from here, so you just when did you start?
Kamila
How did you start?
Kamila
I’m you’re in Massachusetts, or kind of make a little bit of sense.
Charles
Yeah yeah, so I live in Marblehead which is a coastal town. It’s probably I could walk to the water in like a minute and 1/2. I wanted to, so I’ve always been around the ocean and I loved the, uh.
Charles
I think I was first exposed to option.
Charles
Do you know like the general idea of it, like lobster traps and all?
Charles
It’s basically there’s like metal cages, and then there’s a buoy attached with the rope going up to the surface and then there’s live lobsters.
Charles
Enter and then there’s a bait bag that’s called the kitchen, and then when they try to get out, they get lost.
Charles
They end up in the parlor just when you pull it up and then they’re there.
Charles
Uhm, so I was first introduced to what I think by probably in middle school I had a friend who had a little Boston whaler boat and he went out and did that so he first exposed me to and then I kind of fell in love with it from there.
Charles
And then I have a little 19 foot center console boat.
Charles
And uhm, the first three years I did, I decided recreational license, which means you can have a maximum of 10 traps.
Charles
Uhm, but then three.
Charles
Years ago I got yeah student commercial license.
Charles
Uhm, well you can have up to 25 traps and you can sell your catch to like wholesale distributors legally so.
Charles
I kind of.
Charles
Turned it from just like a fun hobby into a summer job.
Charles
And then.
Charles
Yeah, I also like I collect data and spreadsheets.
Charles
Every single time I go out like water temperatures, all the different locations like take notes like kind of bait.
Charles
I use how many lobsters I.
Charles
Get like that.
Charles
Then I can learn over time like what bottom conditions like rocky versus grass.
Charles
At what times of the year is which zones better for lobstering?
Charles
So I tried to?
Charles
Use that as well.
Kamila
Alright, so let’s start from the very beginning number one.
Kamila
I have a question that has nothing related to extracurriculars.
Kamila
Does a lobster swim?
Kamila
Like how does it get into the trap?
Kamila
I don’t how does it move around.
Charles
So they kind of crawl in the bond they’re crustaceans and bottom feeders.
Charles
They just kind of basically eat whatever, and so they don’t swim like they can kind of do a thing with their tail, where they can flap in a defence and then.
Charles
Zoom through the water a little bit.
Charles
But yeah, they’re not swimming and then.
Kamila
So you just like keep the traps and they just like you keep them for like a long time and then like eventually they like float in.
Charles
Yeah, you go and.
Charles
Check the traps like every three days.
Charles
And also this just remind me of another extracurricular.
Charles
I had I gave a.
Charles
TEDx talk in my school?
Charles
Uhm, and it was actually about like lobstering.
Charles
My connect with nature.
Charles
And then also another thing to do with lobstering was I created like with this entrepreneurship program at my school.
Charles
Last spring I started this.
Charles
Uhm, like.
Charles
Mini website company startup thingy called like Lobster.
Charles
Lift where it’s come.
Charles
Basically one big problem with lobster traps is there’s that rope that stretches the surface.
Charles
Of the buoy.
Charles
And one problem is that, like North Atlantic right whales.
Charles
Uh, have a tendency to like get tangled up in those lines and that can be really bad for their population so.
Charles
Basically, lobster lift was this like.
Charles
Kind of my attempt to.
Charles
Create like a lineless lobster trap where the GUI stays in the bottom.
Charles
Of the trap.
Charles
And there’s like Ruby stuff when you’re trying.
Charles
To pull it up.
Charles
So that way there’s no line stretching in between and like no wildlife or like marine life can get tangled up and die in it.
Charles
So it’s been like a pretty big problem that’s happening.
Charles
There’s like legislation going.
Charles
On in Maine about it right now.
Charles
Yeah, that’s another thing.
Kamila
OK, so.
Kamila
Thank you for mentioning that we’ll get to those after like I finished my questions with your lobster business so you said for the first three years you just did it for like like you said recreationally.
Kamila
So like when you catch the lobsters, are you able to like take them for yourself and like eat them?
Speaker 4
Yeah, so there’s.
Charles
I mean, you’re not.
Charles
Most of the lobsters that you catch, you’re actually throwing back because first of all, if it’s a female that’s pregnant called an egger, or it ’cause they have like.
Charles
A bunch of like thousands of black eggs underneath their tails and you put them back because that’s healthy for the population.
Charles
And also if the watch is too small, which is less than 3.25 inches from, like the eye sockets at the end of the abdomen.
Charles
Then you also throw back these.
Charles
Then it’s like too young and small you.
Charles
Wanna let it?
Charles
Continue to live and grow.
Charles
And then also.
Speaker 4
If the officers too big.
Charles
Over 5 inches from that same like I thought the measurement then you also.
Charles
Have to throw.
Charles
It back ’cause that means lobster is live so long that it must have like.
Charles
The right genetic material to survive.
Charles
And you want to kind.
Charles
Of keep those strong genes in.
Charles
The gene pool for the future.
Kamila
OK, and then once you started selling like were you selling to local restaurants in your area?
Speaker 4
Uhm no.
Speaker 4
So I sold to a, uh, a wholesale distributor where it’s this little.
Speaker 4
It’s called Little Harbor lobster.
Charles
They have a like a doc.
Charles
I just pull my boat up there, bring all officers in, they waive them and then they pay you and.
Charles
You go so.
Charles
You typically get.
Charles
Uhm, during the season.
Charles
The prices fluctuate, but you’re getting like.
Charles
Uhm, at the start it’s a bit higher, like maybe.
Charles
$8.00 per pound.
Charles
Uh, and then as like.
Charles
By anchor summer it can go down if it’s like six or five.
Charles
Drink Ovid.
Charles
The prices were hit pretty bad because no lobsters were going to.
Charles
China and then.
Charles
The Canadian markets just kind of like went S and overflowed the East Coast so prices dropped off.
Charles
But yeah, this past summer they were.
Kamila
Good this lobsters are expensive.
Kamila
I’m sure you made quite a a good amount of money.
Charles
Yeah, I mean the price they charge the restaurants.
Charles
Are a lot.
Charles
Of a premium on what you get wholesale when you’re just like originally selling to the dealer, who then sells the restaurant from there.
Kamila
Oh OK, OK alright so you also said that you like when you go out you take measurements of like water temperature and like where you caught the lobsters like where there is more like of an abundance of them.
Kamila
When you do that, are you just doing that for your own like?
Kamila
Purposes or are you actually giving that data to like other people to analyze?
Speaker 4
Uhm yeah, so all.
Charles
That data is actually for myself.
Charles
I also track like how many Eggers there are, the location, how many shorts so so I can kind of like get a gauge for like what areas have?
Charles
What kind of lobsters, and where the lobsters are moving around.
Charles
And also just ’cause it’s kind of cool to see how things change year over year.
Charles
If I can like if the population is declining or going up or like what’s going on with the water temperatures year over year.
In popular
Charles
But there is actually not.
Charles
They mentioned it, uh, and now they’re like.
Charles
Wave data entrance into, like the National Division of Marine.
Charles
Is they have like a system set up where all the lobstermen commercially are meant to like input their catches for the summer.
Charles
So I also put data in there, but.
Charles
That’s just more basic.
Charles
You only report like the pounds of lobster that you sell to the dealer and like.
Charles
The general area which you caught it, which for me is just like within a mile of shore.
Charles
So it’s really basic, but yeah.
Kamila
And then on your college app, did you just basically write down a very small version of what you told me?
Kamila
Like start, did it for six years, got my license here like sold it here.
Charles
Yeah, uhm, so I think I just wrote down.
Charles
Like commercial lobstermen for the past four years sells to commercial and private dealers.
Charles
And I think I also mentioned I have like an e-mail list for private dealers ’cause obviously so I have like a bunch of like friends or just like people from Marblehead.
Charles
If they hear about me then they like put them on my.
Charles
E-mail list
Charles
And then I’ll send out an e-mail like I.
Charles
Have like.
Charles
60 lobsters in my keeper trap.
Charles
Right now, if anyone wants.
Charles
Them let me know and then people respond, and ’cause obviously you get better prices.
Charles
If you’re selling directly to people rather than to the wholesale distributor who, then?
Charles
I like Alexa Premium and.
Charles
Then sells the.
Charles
Plus you’re kind of taking out the.
Charles
Middleman by doing that.
Kamila
Yeah, alright, yes that’s really cool.
Kamila
Well I’m hearing a lot of like your friend Tyler he was like.
Kamila
He says something was fine and so I was like oh wow, you.
Kamila
Guys are.
Kamila
Really like amazing with what you guys do with your extracurriculars.
Kamila
Alright, can you go a little bit more into the entrepreneurship program?
Kamila
So like exactly what it what it is and did you say it was?
Kamila
Like affiliated with your school.
Charles
Yeah, it’s called the the Ryan Shaw entrepreneurship program named after one person who did the entrepreneurship program and then unfortunately passed away.
Charles
I think in college from a rare disease user graduate from the prep, so it’s named in his honor.
Charles
It’s run by actually my economics teacher right now and he’s a really good guy.
Charles
Very knowledgeable, but it’s basically.
Charles
It’s about kind of taking an idea from like.
Charles
Like the conceptualization phase to.
Charles
Like putting up a mock, uh, Shark Tank trial and at the end trying to like pitch the idea?
Charles
It’s a a group of like imaginary investors to see.
Charles
Like if they would choose your company for a investment.
Kamila
Is this like a club where you have different positions like treasury, like Secretary and stuff?
Kamila
Or was it more like just a program?
Charles
No, it’s not a a student run club.
Charles
It’s like an actual program.
Charles
Yeah, but met after school just in the spring last.
Charles
Like one or
Kamila
OK, and I won’t have you elaborate ’cause you did tell us like your idea and what you did with that.
Charles
Two days a week.
Kamila
So one last thing you did mention with extracurriculars is a TEDx to your school.
Kamila
So I’m I’m sure a lot of people know what TEDx is.
Kamila
But like, can you explain like why you were selected if or if you asked to do in what you talked about and like the preparations?
Kamila
Or that?
Charles
Yeah, so first I go back to the entrepreneurship thing briefly, ’cause I actually they continued it throughout the summer.
Charles
Then I like create a website and I built a prototype one that could like go down and release the buoy.
Charles
Up so I and I have like I made like a little website in like a YouTube video where you can see the like.
Charles
Underwater buoy things.
Charles
I like to go pro up.
Charles
To it as hazardly?
Charles
Uhm, yeah, that was bad and would you just ask me about the the Ted X?
Kamila
These headaches.
Speaker 4
Uh, yeah, so that was.
Speaker 4
Uhm it was.
Charles
Less focusing on lobstering more just like.
Charles
On my relationship with the ocean and then also like.
Speaker 4
The theme of the.
Charles
Conference was kinship, so I kind of talked about.
Charles
How come all the time I spend on the water kind of strengthened my relationship with my dad ’cause he would come out a lot of times with me during the summer?
Charles
So it’s kind of just like a.
Charles
Good bonding experience like serene early in the morning 5:00 AM.
Charles
The water splashes like us two out there checking traps.
Charles
It’s a good time.
Kamila
And did you you just presented to your school?
Kamila
Was it like a they selected students to tell their stories?
Charles
Yeah, you just like I think it started in October.
Charles
You just put like like your pitch Friday and then they.
Charles
Choose you or not.
Charles
I think almost everyone gets chosen and then they partnered.
Charles
You up with.
Charles
An alumni from the prep who’s like notable in some way to help you like design your speech and give you tips on how to perform it.
Charles
I was with.
Charles
A guy named art coviello.
Charles
It was like a, uh, a CEO of a cyber security.
Charles
Company for a while, so he’s a.
Speaker 4
Pretty much remarkable.
Charles
Guy and he definitely gave me a lot of good advice and just like speaking in general and working on my Ted talk so.
Kamila
And with this Ted talk like.
Kamila
What you said you mentioned it as an extracurricular, so when you when you were writing on your college app, did you write like it took like a month to prepare this speech, like what was like the process for you that you actually wrote down on your college application?
Charles
Uhm, yeah, I think I don’t know if I actually went to how.
Charles
Long it took me.
Charles
It was kind of rigs as I.
Charles
I think the first time we ended up doing the Ted talk twice because the first time we did it some guy in like the tech who messed up the speakers that like our voices sounded really bad.
Charles
Someday let’s come back in again and like redo the whole thing.
Charles
Just kind of a drag.
Charles
But it ended up working out.
Charles
See, I think.
Charles
I I just listed like the amount of hours you’ve dedicated to it, or is that?
Charles
What, yeah, I think that’s on the application.
Kamila
Alright, alright so I mean I feel like I rushed through the entrepreneurship program, but can we, just like do a little bit more elaboration so you said you like had this idea?
Kamila
You’re going to pitch this idea, and you made a website and like you showed how it worked.
Kamila
Did your idea actually work out?
Speaker 4
Uhm yeah so.
Charles
I was working with two other guys on this as well.
Charles
I was like the initial person who came up with the.
Charles
Idea, but then they’re.
Charles
Both in the program they like partnered up with me as a group of three.
Charles
And and yeah, so I made the prototype, made a website.
Charles
We also reached out to like some actual lobster men or and a lobster woman and like asked them if they thought the idea was feasible.
Charles
So we got some good feedback from them.
Speaker 4
Obviously, like all.
Charles
The hardest things with the lineless traps is that.
Charles
But when, like big commercial people.
Charles
Which makes up like a majority of the traps in the water.
Charles
They don’t just have like single traps connected to buoys, they have what’s called a troll of traps underwater, or it’s like 10 traps or even sometimes 20 all hooked up to like 2 bullies on either end and then like the traps linked together on the bottom.
Charles
So it’s hard.
Charles
When you like.
Charles
We don’t have buoys up here then one commercial person can like later trap over another person.
Charles
Does that make sense?
Charles
Like on the bottom?
Charles
Like if these are two lines?
Charles
If they get.
Charles
Crossed over and then when ’cause you like?
Charles
Can’t see where.
Charles
The buoys are to like judge where.
Charles
Those traps are underwater.
Charles
So that’s one of the hardest things to.
Charles
Uh, kind of like address, and that’s I think something at the.
Charles
Uh, like lineless lobstering community is trying to cope with right now.
Charles
Like if you’re trying to do like GPS, but.
Speaker 4
The whole point.
Charles
Is like you’re trying to still make lobstering profitable and you don’t want like skyrocket, lobster price or anything so it needs.
Charles
To be like pretty.
Charles
Cheap technology that’s gonna like continue to work and.
Charles
Uh, not like.
Charles
Required a bunch of maintenance or anything.
Kamila
Oh, are those like yellow things you see in the ocean like those like little like looks like tear.
Kamila
Droplets, is that what that is?
Charles
Yeah, yeah those are gooeys.
Ah, for.
Kamila
Is it just for lobstering or is it like in general?
Charles
So yeah, I mean.
Kamila
There she goes all the time.
Kamila
I’m like what are they floating in the middle of the ocean for?
Charles
Yeah, most of them are are lobstering yeah.
Kamila
Oh OK, OK, you learn something new every day, all right?
Kamila
So we’ve gone through quite a bit of extra curriculars.
Kamila
Are there any other major extracurriculars you want to talk about?
Charles
Uhm, yeah.
Charles
I think when you mentioned Tyler talking about finance, I’ve also done a lot with that.
Charles
The past like.
Charles
Six or seven years I’ve had my own accounts.
Charles
Uh, like I’m pretty active.
Charles
I did a, uh, a program at Upenn for like 3 weeks.
Charles
Uhm, in like finance and economics?
Charles
Last summer
Charles
And also I’m just like always like reading books like the intelligent investor by Benjamin Graham and like it’s just kind of a cool thing to learn about, especially when you’re young.
Charles
’cause if you start things properly now then you can kind.
Charles
Of like save yourself up.
Charles
For later not having to worry about money.
Kamila
All right and you said you had this.
Kamila
This is even longer than Tyler I think.
Kamila
’cause I think he said his dad was in investing but he didn’t start his own account until like.
Kamila
Three years ago, like seriously.
Kamila
Like three years ago, maybe four years ago.
Kamila
So were you doing like the same thing as him?
Kamila
Like investing money and stuff like what exactly were you doing?
Charles
Yeah, I’ve done it a bit longer than him.
Charles
His dad is a big guy in finance.
Charles
I’ve talked to him before.
Charles
He’s a remarkable person.
Charles
Came from like South Africa and everything.
Charles
Ah, but yeah, so with me I just opened.
Charles
You’re not like legally allowed to have your personal account until you’re 18, right?
Charles
It was opened like.
Speaker 4
It’s called a.
Charles
Custodial account so it’s joint where your parent is like a signatory on it, and they technically own the account, but then it says that like.
Charles
Automatically transfers into your name once you’re 21 or whatever a certain age is, so.
Charles
I did that.
Charles
Uh, yeah, like.
Charles
Probably like 2017 or something maybe before then.
Kamila
And are you like investing into like stocks or something?
Kamila
What exactly are you doing with the money there?
Charles
Yeah, it’s three different accounts.
Charles
All of the kind of.
Charles
Like different approaches to kind of like, see how each one performs under different market conditions.
Charles
So I have one where I focus more on like growth sets.
Charles
Like small to mid cap companies, growing earnings and revenue that seem to have like promising prospects in the long term future but and those did really well in like 2020 ISH but.
Charles
They also trade out extreme premiums where like a lot of these companies are way overvalued based on, like you know, out of money they’re actually bringing in.
Charles
So like.
Charles
You look at the price to earnings ratio.
Charles
Of some of these?
Charles
Of these, during like the whole GameStop phase and stuff and it’s just ridiculous.
Charles
Like these people are really investing in trash.
Charles
But yeah, then I also opened up an account that focused more on like the Warren Buffett.
Charles
Philosophy of stocks, which is value investing?
Charles
Where you’re trying to like pick up high quality companies that are a bit more mature than growth stocks and they might not be like.
Charles
Growing earnings at crazy paces, but they’re like, really.
Charles
Cheap based on the amount of money that they.
Charles
Like and and they often like.
Charles
Uh, distribute cash.
Charles
And dividends and stuff like that so.
Charles
That’s what I did more recently, and then I also have a Roth IRA Ray, which is like a tax exempt retirement account.
Kamila
That’s good and you would.
Kamila
I mean, obviously you do it, but like getting into finance when you’re younger is really beneficial, or at least having your own account like you.
Kamila
’cause I do as well like under your parents name, but like at least.
Kamila
It’s there for you.
Kamila
Yeah, alright, so let’s get into like the actual college application.
Kamila
You know all this so when you.
Kamila
You entered high school and you said there wasn’t tremendous pressure from your parents.
Kamila
So like, uh.
Kamila
We’ve like a very prestigious elite school, but coming into high school, what year or around what time did you actually start thinking seriously, like?
Kamila
I mean, this can be anything.
Kamila
Oh, I should start making my college list so I should start thinking about like or learning about the college process.
Kamila
What exactly do I have to do and stuff?
Kamila
So when did you start thinking about the actual college process?
Kamila
Which is like picking colleges, touring colleges and actually writing your essays.
Charles
Yeah, I mean I wasn’t like.
Charles
Fanatic about politics.
Charles
Kind of just like.
Charles
It’s still like enjoying high school.
Charles
I wasn’t kind of like thinking too far into the future.
Charles
Uhm, I knew I was like capable of getting.
Charles
Into a pretty good.
Charles
School or I knew I like.
Charles
Wanted to go to like a school where I’d be surrounded by like smart people on summer.
Charles
And I guess, yeah, I probably started making.
Charles
A list around.
Charles
Like this time last year I was thinking like essay Tees and Stuff.
Charles
I know I I wasn’t ever in like the boat where there’s some people who apply to like over 20 schools or something crazy.
Kamila
Your friends that I’ve interviewed.
Charles
Yeah, yeah we have one friend named Ents who went kinda crazy.
Charles
Or yeah he applied to like.
Charles
24 I think or something.
Charles
This sounds like a nightmare.
Charles
I can’t imagine filling out that many applications.
Charles
Yeah, and then I did.
Charles
I applied EB to Duke and early action to University of Virginia or my dad one.
Charles
Both schools I had toured.
Speaker 4
Those the only two I applied to.
Charles
And I’m getting into Duke.
Charles
I I was like I had other applications repaired.
Charles
Regular decision if I didn’t get to Duke that I would have sent out probably another.
Charles
Like 10 or so in that like between that December 15th and December 31st deadline, so I like had a.
Charles
A list they are like a doomsday list, so I don’t get to do this is my like strategy this this this?
Charles
But yeah, yeah.
Charles
Yeah, that was my overall thing. Try to get the e-card in and if that doesn’t work out go from there.
Kamila
Alright, so before we get into your actual application, which is mainly I’m just talking about your personal statement, why did you choose Duke?
Kamila
What were you looking for in college and what like boxes did Duke check off and you said University of Virginia, ’cause your dad is an alum from there but like actually do?
Kamila
Like what about it was so appealing to you.
Charles
Yeah, so I guess one thing was location.
Charles
I kind of wanted to get a bit away from home, but I like California far so I thought Duke was.
Charles
Kind of.
Charles
It offered a way to see a bit of.
Charles
A different part of the world going to the South.
Charles
Uh, while also offering me like the closeness where worst thing comes to worse I can.
Charles
Drive help and like.
Charles
A full day.
Charles
Like an 8 hour drive or something.
Charles
So yeah, that was location and with that comes.
Charles
Temperature as well.
Charles
At Duke you can play like outdoor tennis year round on the club team which.
Charles
Is pretty cool.
Charles
And then I guess another aspect is kinda like the social scene and the the sports.
Charles
Did you copy said they have a really good basketball team and and that’s one thing that kind of like fascinated me.
Charles
I love the.
Charles
Idea of like all the people gathering together to watch the big games they have.
Charles
Tenting during the games against UNC, their rivals wherever unlike camps out in front of the.
Charles
Coach K stadium.
Charles
Yeah, that’s another cool thing.
Kamila
Uhm, were there any like programs or majors that appealed to you?
Charles
Well, I guess.
Kamila
’cause I mean, Duke is a top school, so it’s like a top and a lot of things.
Kamila
But were there any anything specific like academically?
Charles
Yeah, so in academics.
Charles
Uhm, we’re very strong in economics and finance, which was.
Charles
Uhm, one thing I I think I want to study in college is economics, uhm?
Charles
The other thing I’m thinking about is physics.
Charles
Like pairing physical economics together.
Charles
In physics they don’t like.
Charles
Like top two.
Charles
In the like nation or never.
Charles
I mean, it’s a good school.
Charles
There it’s like a top 30.
Charles
Program or something like.
Charles
Any of these schools are gonna have pretty like similar like you’re gonna you’re gonna learn pretty similar stuff at any of these, like big name schools.
Charles
And then also another thing I found.
Charles
Cool was the UM.
Charles
They have like a really.
Charles
Cool marine biology.
Charles
UM, like campus.
Charles
Come over, it’s like near the Outer Banks.
Charles
It’s not the other banks I’m forgetting the name of the town, but.
Charles
They have like a.
Charles
Uh, like a side campus right on?
Charles
The water they every go.
Charles
For a semester, if you’re.
Charles
Studying out marine life.
Charles
Which I thought was cool, ah.
Charles
I’m not sure if I’m going to go that direction yet, but.
Charles
I’m definitely like keeping it open as a possibility.
Kamila
And have you visited Duke like?
Kamila
Did you go on a tour to like finalize your decision?
Charles
Yeah, I visited Duke with my dad in last.
Charles
August, like, uh before school started.
Charles
And and I have a a, a cousin who works at the Duke hospital.
Charles
There she went to Duke, so that was like one of the ways I was introduced into ’cause I have two presidents who went there.
Charles
And yeah, so she like showed us around a bit and we could also crash at their place.
Charles
So it’s kind of convenient there.
Kamila
Did you go to the dining hall there?
Kamila
Because I’ve been to Duke and their food is like.
Charles
It’s ridiculous.
Charles
I actually really like part of my why did you guys say about that?
Charles
Was like how.
Charles
I opened it up about the food like they.
Charles
Have like crepe stations and like.
Charles
Italian food is all that like.
Charles
I think it was ridiculous, yeah.
And it’s so.
Kamila
Well done like I’ve been to colleges and like the food and everyone talks, trash trash, college food.
Kamila
This was like restaurant level like this is whole good.
Charles
I know, yeah.
Kamila
Oh my God, I just had to go I I needed to relate.
Kamila
To someone like.
Kamila
Food readable at Duke.
Kamila
Yeah, let’s go into your personal statement now, which is like the actual application and you only did apply to actually and you only did really apply to Duke and.
Kamila
University of Virginia.
Kamila
So with your personal statement, what exactly did you write about?
Kamila
Like and I’m assuming you had 650 words, so in those 650 words, what topic did you choose? Well, I question and then what did you actually write about?
Charles
Yeah, so I wrote about, uhm, I like focused in on a little like story from lobstering.
Speaker 4
Or it was?
Charles
One time during the summer where my.
Speaker 4
Life whole book.
Charles
And it was about kind of like.
Charles
It was like both a specific.
Charles
Story about fixing the live well and like that journey, but then also like what that represents and.
Charles
So I I was like talking about like overcoming obstacles like press or mirroring.
Kamila
Can you explain what a live well is?
Charles
Like not giving up.
Charles
Oh yeah, so it’s basically like it’s the.
Charles
Uh, like a holding tank where I put the lobsters.
Charles
Once I catch them before I put them, like when you drive around their boat and you get lobster, you put into the keeper tank or like the live well or it has a, uh livewell pump running that brings like new seawater that’s oxygenated into the container.
Charles
So that keeps them alive for your before you’re heading in.
Charles
From the end of the day.
Charles
Right?
Charles
So yeah, basically without that it’s like pretty hard to do lobstering ’cause then they can’t like or like what do you meant to do with their?
Charles
Lobsters you.
Charles
Can’t just like even a bucket they’ll suffocate so.
Charles
Yeah, that was kind of like what I.
Charles
Focused on there.
Charles
Uh, at one point in the summer when it broke and then, like I went through a bunch of stuff trying to fix it, and then eventually I did.
Kamila
All right, all right.
Kamila
So and then you did talk like your YSU focused a little bit about food for Duke.
Kamila
For the other supplementals with the Duke, can you give us like, uh, to the best of your memory?
Kamila
What were the problems for Duke and then how did you approach them?
Kamila
And what did you write about for the supplemental essays?
Charles
Uhm, yeah, so I think there’s.
Charles
3 supplements I answered, two of them was that I think only one was required so the warm hours required was like the generic.
Charles
Why Duke?
Charles
Any, uh thousand where I like opened about UM?
Charles
The food, and then I think I like.
Charles
Went on to a bit more like specific things I like about and some like.
Charles
I I don’t if I chose like class, I’d be interested in or something.
Charles
I think I mentioned like a professor or something.
Charles
Yeah, and then the other supplement I answered was.
Speaker 4
It was about, UM.
Charles
Like something unique about, yeah, I think it was like gendered.
Charles
If you would like something or like with something unique perspective you offer.
Charles
Like if it was like race or gender or something like that I.
Kamila
I hate those kinds of questions.
Charles
Yeah, I kinda I push it kinda I.
Speaker 1
You leave.
Charles
I can kind of dead on it, so like.
Charles
I don’t offer much like.
Charles
Uh, like racial diversity or I said like straight out, just like I come from like a pretty good background.
Charles
I was very fortunate to have like a.
Charles
Uh, a warm home to like be raised and everything like I’ve.
Charles
Had it pretty easy, but then I said one unique, UM.
Charles
Like kind of a.
Charles
Like opinion or experience that I do present.
Charles
To the Jewish community.
Charles
Is how I was raised to hate Duke in basketball because my dad went to UVA so they’re kind of like rivals in basketball.
Charles
I talked about how like.
Charles
During March Mass every year my.
Charles
Dad would always be.
Charles
Like sparring with my cousin to do, ’cause like they’re against each other and all that.
Charles
So I went from kind of that shift from being an enemy to due to wanting to go to do so.
Kamila
Yeah, that’s an interesting perspective right there, all right so.
Kamila
Let’s go on to like the last thing before I wrap up here.
Kamila
So what last thing is advice which is just any advice you want to give at all so you’re not in college yet, so you can’t give advice on like actually entering college.
Kamila
But for those who are in high school right now?
Kamila
You can give like any advice you want.
Kamila
This can be general life advice, something that’s specific to just our age, as like you know teenagers or something specific to the college process.
Kamila
So like what is the one piece of advice you would give right now to someone who’s entering high school?
Kamila
You know, starting college apps, whatever it may be.
Speaker 4
Uhm yeah so.
Charles
As one thing would be like just focusing on like staying healthy, like getting sleep and stuff like that getting exercise.
Charles
’cause like when you treat your body well, then you’re kind of like mind follows that.
Charles
Also, just like folks and relationships friends in high school like only now, like as a senior male thing.
Charles
Oh my God in like a few months.
Charles
Going off and all these people, I’ve spent the past since I was in middle school.
Charles
Sometimes seven years was wrong to be kind of like dispersing across the country, so so kind of folks on those relationships cherish them with their last name.
Charles
Yeah yeah, that’d be 2 main ones.
Kamila
That’s great, I’ve never heard someone actually say that about relationships at all on this podcast.
Kamila
I’m like 80 episodes in, so thank you very much for that.
Kamila
Alright, thank you very much and have a good evening to you.
Charles
Thank you nice meeting you too.
Kamila
That’s it for my episode with Charles I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Kamila
Make sure to subscribe so you know in future episodes are released and check out my blog college reality check.
Kamila
Com for other college related content.